24 Hours in Ancient Athens: A Day in the Life of the People Who Lived There

Twenty four short chapters, each representing an hour in the day, give glimpses into the lives of real people, both ordinary and famous. Each chapter is packed with facts but in the context of (usually) true stories to make this a very readable book. Each character, event and fact is referenced for those who want to study in more detail.

This book was prefaced by the author saying how, unlike most books on ancient history, he did not want to focus on the famous people of the time. Instead he wanted to give the regular people of Athens the chance to shine and the famous citizens would only be glimpsed from the average Joe's eyes. That was a key selling point for me. It wasn't the most highly placed selling point (I'm an ancient history lover), but the fact that it wasn't going to be revolving around Socrates, Hippocrates, Alcibiades, etc ...  and was going to focus on the daily grind of the average Athenian citizen excited me.So, imagine my annoyance when EVERY chapter starts out with your average citizen, only for ninety percent of said chapter to focus on a different famous person. 'Oh, such and such was walking along and, would you believe it, they encountered Socrates.' from then on in any given chapter it was all about the famous person, and the commoner we were promised to live the hour alongside was simply there as a vehicle to introduce you to said famous Athenian. It frustrated me no end and it was pretty much the only aspect of the book that I absolutely hated. I just felt as though the author had not only lied to me, but assumed I, and any other reader, wouldn't be clever enough to realise they were being lied to.I know what you're thinking 'why give it nearly top marks if the book was essentially clickbait?'. Once you get past the fact you were sold snake oil, the book is incredibly enjoyable. If you don't know much about the famous citizens of Athens then the above gripe will not even bother you. There truly is a wealth of information inside the book and it's enjoyable to read and discover new titbits from one of history's greatest cities.As with all books in this series, it is set into twenty-four chapters, each focusing on the daily life of a different person within Athenian society ... and how they have miraculous connections to a famous person each chapter ;)This book, although very enjoyable, felt like it was a bit of a different path from the books on Rome and Egypt which, to their credit, focused more on the daily lives of average people. 24 Hours in Ancient Athens is a marked improvement, writing-wise, on the Egypt book. Unlike in the Egypt book, the tense doesn't change from paragraph to paragraph.In short; I really enjoyed it but felt let down by what were essentially false promises in the preface. Had the author have kept quiet on that front, or simply said 'I plan to intermingle the more famous citizenry of Athens along with the average daily grind of the common men and women' I'd have loved it and given it the full five stars.

Love these books for their detail and reference to real source material. Made into a series of stories make it a fun read. Easy and enjoyable.

The book's structure: Each chapter is an hour of the day or night in Athens, during the Peloponnesian War.Each hour/chapter is a (very) short story which attempts to give a little glimpse into what the life of various citizens, metics, slaves, etc. In Athens, and therefore what life in Athens overall, would have been like.We are introduced, for example, to such-and-such who owns a tavern or such-and-such who is a slave in the local silver mine, and around ten pages are given to each of these people, laid out like (as mentioned above) a short story, explaining what the subject person is doing/thinking/feeling, during his allotted hour/chapter.It's fiction; fiction often based on archaeological findings. For example we are introduced to Celeus (I believe a creation of the author) who visits a local sorceress to curse his rivals - this is based on some lead tablets with curses written on them, unearthed in Athens. The rest of course is conjecture and story-telling.I have read other books on the subject of Athens or its famous citizens which have brought life there totally - well - to life! Books such as Bettany Hughes' "The Hemlock Cup", which is so beautifully written and excellent, so I was a bit disappointed with "24 Hours in Ancient Athens", it almost feels like a book aimed at younger people - teenagers perhaps.Overall, it was a relatively interesting read but I'm glad it was short!

As expected

Finished it within 2 days, adds amazing personality to these ancient accounts and characters. Definitely invest if you enjoy greek history or love Athens.

A great insight into everyday lives in ancient Athens! Using documented events and some imagination the day came alive hour by hour.A really enjoyable read of the joys and perils of the time.

Quite interesting but didn't seem to flow properly

Enjoy this author a lot. Bought this book for my teen granddaughter so absorbed in history, BUT also loves “ Percy Jackson “ fiction books. She was thrilled for how detailed in formation it was! It was an added layer for her interests & a bit of real time travel!

I read 24 Hours in Ancient Rome (thoroughly enjoyed it) and followed with this. It too is very engaging and well researched. I really enjoy the way author writes and presents the 24 hours. I was sufficiently interested to buy book one of the Philocles of Athens murder mystery series and am enjoying that, but the earlier reading of this book has illuminated Philocles' world greatly. I highly recommend this book, and look forward to reading the Egyptian and Chinese books soon.

not as informative as a sociology text would be, but much more memorable.Highly recommended

Mixing ordinary daily activities undertaken by ordinary people with famous figures and major Western cultural artifacts is a very clever way of imagining the past. The author's scholarship is quietly on display throughout the text. Framing a narrative across a variety of classes and professions during a single 24 hour period knits the factual information together and forms a holistic and a plausible recreation of the era. This combination also produces a streamlined and very engaging experience for the reader. My only reservation about giving the book 5 stars is that the chapters are so brief that we barely meet the characters and their particular situations before we are moved to the next. This is frustrating. It is like eavesdropping on a tantalising series of conversations and not ever finding out what happened next! If the writer did that deliberately in an attempt to encourage readers to investigate other books about the era then that was a crafty plan. Lol.

The book is good and an easy read, can recommend.